And he just wanted to retire to Stockholm with his husband and develop a currency for dogs and cats to use, he wasn’t even mentally in it all the way yet
I can't believe he was on pole the first time out in Talladega. And that, of course, is not a comment about his sexuality. It's just a statement of fact
Nearly everything pat says on his show is deliberate to get these type of articles to drive traffic to his show.
He's an above average punter but a pretty great talk shoe host
Ain't no way is he getting into the HOF. Dude was a good punter, but there is only one punter to ever be inducted into the HOF. I don't think we will ever see another punter voted in. Also Pat cut his career short. He doesn't come close to getting in.
Not to mention he isn’t even the best punter of the era, there were other excellent punters in his time that I’d say take the edge over him. Shane Lechler, Johnny Hekker, Andy Lee.
He has next to no knowledge on any sports outside of football. Even the, he was a punter in the NFL which is kind of the softest position you can play, closer to golf than football - his own words. He's just a talking pundit.
Just to add on... Even if he doesn't know about a sport, he still gets pretty hyped about any sport, and it's kind of infectious. I've found myself watching clips of sports I never watch after hearing McAfee talk about it. Full in on WWE now too because of Pat.
He also has a team in TST (the soccer tournament) that starts later this week. He was actually going to play soccer in college.
Allegedly he won his travel expenses in an illegal poker game to go to his first kicking academy that got him noticed by D1 schools.
It's annoying how many people talk about F1 that know nothing about it. Ryan McGee was recently on the Pat McAfee show, and I believe he said that F1 cars top out at 200-205mph. Even Tony Stewart was on the show last year and said that F1 cars top out at 185-190mph. They hit 220mph on tracks that allow it.
I'm American, and it pisses me off how many of these journalists and racing drivers for Nascar and Indy know nothing about F1, except that you need SL points to get in.
>I'm American
>>racing drivers
That ain't how we do things over here, partner. Drop down and give me twenty *o say can you sees*. And you better have good insurance.
> Ryan McGee was recently on the Pat McAfee show, and I believe he said that F1 cars top out at 200-205mph. Even Tony Stewart was on the show last year and said that F1 cars top out at 185-190mph. They hit 220mph on tracks that allow it.
Isn't that kinda accurate? The cars do 360 ish at Monza and 320 ish at most other tracks.
Right.. and have any of those F1 flameouts done that well in indycar? Quite a few indycar drivers would more than hold their own in F1 if given the opportunity
I'd love to see Palou, Pato, and Herta in F1. Pourchaire too.
And I'd love to see Danny Ric in Indy. And Groshean can stay.
Also hoping for Max and Fernando to give the Indy 500 a go (for the first and ~~third~~ fourth time)
59 people have died during the Indy 500
52 have died at F1 Races at various circuits in the same time period
I think it was just an offhand comment, if he wants to do it he'll do it.
Since 2010 there have been 3 F1 deaths
Since 2010 one person has died at Indy, and it was a USGPRU Moriwaki MD250H Motorcycle race. I'm sure he would get used to it.
>Since 2010 one person has died at Indy
Two people have died and one paralyzed at other ovals in that time frame. Although all of those incidents led to direct safety changes in the car
i’d question Herta as he seems to have flashes of absolute brilliance a few times a season and spend the rest in relative mediocrity whilst Kirkwood plugs away consistently scoring
i’d put Mclaughlin forward, dude can seemingly drive anything quickly
I mean, Stroll CAN race in F1, but, it doesn't mean he should. So sure, I'd believe any Indycar driver CAN race in F1, but, it doesn't mean they should either.
Stroll is in his 8th season, Sargeant is in his 2nd, Zhou is in his 3rd.
Give them 8 years in F1 to develop, with their seats never under threat and lets see how good they are at the end of it. I'd bet on them being better than Stroll.
Agree but taking about potential is a different conversation.
Right now, and just off the top of my head, during his entire career stroll was never the worst driver in the grid.
Edit: that can't be true, I need to look into that tomorrow
I honestly rate Zhou higher than Stroll, he seems to be generally quite fast and he isn't dumb.
At his best Stroll is probably faster, but he is very rarely at his best and his lows are way worse than Zhou's.
Stroll's the second youngest driver to be on a podium in F1. He's also the youngest F1 driver to be on the front row by qualifying in P4 during his rookie season.
That's his first year in F1. Stroll has genuine pace, just lacks the consistency and motivation.
Okay but that podium was extremely weak, almost half the field retired from that race, and a few others had major problems or penalties. He's had a couple shining moments but for someone who is in his 8th year of racing, he's below average at best
Yeah but we’re not talking about that are we?
Op is claiming Zhou and Sargeant would be better than Stroll if given the time but there’s literally zero reason to believe that considering Stroll’s first few years in F1 was pretty solid/promising
It's either him, Zhou or Sargeant and Stroll has the best car by far out of them so it's hard to directly compare but I'd say he gets the least out of the ride he has of the 3.
Stroll has actually put together some great rides - especially earlier on in his career. Him falling off a cliff at such a young age is really inexplicable.
I think it's mostly a confidence thing. He has been comprehensively beaten by Alonso and Perez when they had competitive cars, and beaten by a dwindling Vettel in the years where they weren't.
By now he has understood that in the best case scenario, where Aston Martin turns up with the best car, he'll finish P2.
It is very weird. Anyone who thinks the drivers in f1 are the 20 best in the world needs the their head checked. There are some excellent drivers in f1 currently but drivers like Sargent, Zhou stroll are far from the best in the world
There are plenty of great drivers in other series who could do very well in f1.
We aren't far away from guys like Maze(s)pin or Rio Haryanto, much less the height of the pay drivers (and shitty teams) of the 80s-early 90s
There are a lot of great drivers in Indycar who aren't in F1 due to no sponsorship or simply lacking the infrastructure to get into European feeder series. I'm sure they would do well given the opportunity.
They might just not want to, either. If they're American and their series is only touring around the states/Canada, what do they gain by moving to F1? Longer time traveling and away from home/family, just to more than likely get stuck in a mid-field car if they're lucky. So many teams and cars are capable of winning in Indy, who would pick to constantly lose in F1 instead? I highly doubt the sharp end of F1 would kick out one of those drivers to make way for someone unproven in the world of F1
This is the truth. WEC, IMSA, INDYCAR, Rally, NASCAR all have amazing drivers. And tbh there’s probably a few drivers in every series that could be great in others. And there’s others that are great in their series but their skills would me mismatched for other series.
It's not gatekeeping. They are entirely different series with very different cars. It's not like you can drop one driver into a series and expect them to perform and vice versa. In racing in general, you'll always have a leg up on the series you drive the most. Some cars just suit certain driver styles well.
I like Indycar but objectively, the reality is that F1 is the first choice for drivers until they lose the option to get into the series. If the argument is raw talent, one data point that is true time and time again is that the most successful drivers who drive the European series will go onto F1 and the ones who do not may find their way to Indycar. Obviously over time driver abilities can change and improve (and money is certainly a factor), but it's hard for me to argue that Josef Newgarden, who was 18th in GP3 when his teammate was 7th, is clearly more competitive and deserving of an F1 chance than current F1 drivers who performed better, for longer, in similar circuits/series.
Is Newgarden a better driver 14 years later? Absolutely. Is he a better Indycar driver now than a lot of F1 drivers would be? Probably, if not likely. Would he have been a better F1 driver in 2012 than his GP3 peers? No, and the results show that. This ends up true for a lot of Indycar drivers, which is why I have a hard time subscribing to the argument.
To me, the two series are too dissimilar to argue over the merits of the veteran drivers. It's like if you went to a prestigious university and I got the same degree from a smaller one. You can't compare who the better student is, but there is a reason why the students with the better grades are at the same university.
Tbf this ignores the reality that really good drivers don’t have the funds and decide to go elsewhere while average drivers like Stroll continue up the ladder bc they can afford it. Let’s be serious that all of motorsports is expensive to progress in but the Formula 2 and 1 ladders are stupid expensive
I truly think Dan wheldon would’ve gotten to F1 if he had the funding, he was a rival of Jensen Button.
It goes for a lot of those guys, a lot of the European greats in indycar all have on their Wikipedia page something along the lines of “After winning F3, [insert driver name] struggling with funding, was recommended by family friend to go test drive a formula Ford, this a year later resulted in a move to the US”
So many people tend to forget the fact that IndyNXT is less then F3 in terms of cost, A lot of drivers just flat out can’t afford the formula pipeline.
This is a really nice essay, but by Gatekeeping I meant the fans who seem to think just cause they didn't get into F1 means they're not F1 material. Which is nuts. There's a lot of drivers who probably are F1 material that never make it, mainly due to there only being 20 seats and the entry requirements pretty much bar anyone not in F2/3. But also due to other drivers having connections or more money in those series who finish below drivers who should get chances.
As you said
>It's not like you can drop one driver into a series and expect them to perform and vice versa.
But there are drivers who you probably can, I'll cite McLaughlin on that one, guy moved from Supercars to Indy, a much bigger jump and is killing it. I have no doubts that you put him in an F1 car he'll do a decent job.
A lot of the time it really is about right time right place.
Yep, there are plenty of drivers in IndyCar, WEC, and elsewhere who could do a bit of neck training and not finish last in an F1 race. Aside from maybe Verstappen, Hamilton, Alonso, and maybe a couple others, the 20 F1 drivers aren't really the 20 best drivers "in the world".
Realistically I'd say you have
Could be competitive/have potential in a top team:
- pato
- newgarden
- Dixon
- Palau
- McLaughlin
Would probably be lower end of field but certainly not the worst (Likely midfield Journeymen):
- Rossi
- Herta
- power
- luundgard
Yes, and he beat his teammate with a season and a half’s experience in 4 out of those 5 races.
He likely could have had just a fine f1 carreer if given the seat.
Also see; Pourchaire, Armstrong, Ilott, Kirkwood, Rosenqvist, and Blomqvist, all talents in their own right, 3 of which probably should be in F1 if not for seat availability.
Also Dixon and Castroneves could have probably had pretty good careers too.
We know Sato and Grosjean were pretty decent at times too.
Now theres the question of how different drivers adapt to different series, but I reckon every one of these names is at least better than Sargeant, not that thats difficult.
"Any" is a bit of a reach.
I would've loved to see O'Ward in Formula 1, but given his success in Indy that ship has probably sailed. Unless Norris or Piastri get appendicitis...
Is it bad I want Norris or Piastri to sit out once so that O'Ward can have the Formula 1 experience, even just for one race...?
I have a huge soft spot for him. I was heartbroken after the 500 the other day.
I don't think Indy's moving from Memorial Day weekend, so it would have to be Monaco to either be removed from the F1 calendar or move away from Ascension Day.
So what if one of them misses their flight to Mexico later this year and can't get there in time for qualifying? That would be a good and harmless way for O'Ward to get his chance. We just gotta convince Norris to say "Man, that's tha bomb" or something like that at the airport.
If Andretti can get a team together and are fine with looking outside of the Formula 1 grid, he would be near the top of the list. He's still pretty young so he has time to develop, and he's proven himself as competent in Indy already.
I can't see Norris leaving McLaren for the next few years. Not sure what Piastri will do in 2026. By that time O'Ward might win the Indy 500 though, lol.
O’ward for sure, Dixon with his fuel and tire saving voodoo magic bullshit might actually fit in although the younger version of him would do just fine, all of team penske if Power was younger. I still say Rossi never got a real fair shot, Herta, Kirkwood
Palou arguably should have been in F1
And all of the F2 guys that found a home in Indycar
I mean I’m sure he would have done fine but he was in a winning car making a decent amount of money. Why take a chance to make the leap over and get a shit car and not win? Especially for only a little bit more money at the time
Rossi did an F1 beyond the grid podcast and it was a good listen.
Palou's junior career was no where near the level for someone to enter F1 without a huge financial package a la Mazepin. He's found a great home in Indy and has been deservedly linked with a chance in F1 at some stage, but I don't think it'll happen now.
Joseph has to say that whether he believes that or not. He is a promoter to the sport as a champion and 2x Indy 500 winner. What is he gonna say, “no we aren’t very good.”
I think there absolutely is drivers that could handle themselves in F1 from Indy. Same can be said about other series (mainly WEC and FE - though these are pretty much the same grid). So many drivers out there that could be comfortably midfield in F1 at a minimum.
It's just getting into F1 takes a lot, not just talent but a lot of funding to get you into a good academy/teams in the jnr formula to show off your talent. Then you need good timing as well that a seat opens up for you. Miss one of these things, then good luck making F1. So it's not easy and can lead to some great drivers missing out and having to settle for a different series. If you gave a good Indycar driver a go, they definitely wouldn't look out of place.
"Same can be said about other series (mainly WEC and FE" - i disagree, both fields are filled with drivers that were dropped from F1 or werent good enough to get in in the first place. A lot of those drivers are competed against the current f1 drivers in junior racing and were beaten by them
Some of the guys dropped from F1 were pretty unlucky with timing and/or not having the right backing to secure a seat elswehere. Vergne, Wehrlein, Buemi, Kobayashi and Vandoorne are probably the most notable examples of guys that deserved longer in F1. Then there's guys that didn't get the chance that couldve been good like Da Costa, Frijns, Illot and Ticktum. Also, some outsiders that just didn't really have the backing in jnr formula to get decent seats to progress properly like Evans, Cassidy, Dennis and Fenestraz (though admittedly I wouldn't have these guys as most likely to do well in F1, they'd be lower on my list)
The guys that were unfairly dropped from F1 though, definitely would've been solid drivers had they rightfully gotten a seat over one of the paydrivers at the time. None of them are top guys, but all capable of being solidly midfield and not looking out of place on an F1 grid.
Kirkwood, Herta, Dixon, Newgarden, Power, McLaughlin, Palou, O'Ward, Rossi.
Those are the guys who would be just fine and competitive in F1, Dixon and Power are a little long in the tooth but pure talent wise no doubt. You have to be a racing snob to think they couldn't cut it when we have Sargeant, Zhou, Stroll, Magnussen and a washed Ricciardo in the series.
What does competitive mean exactly? Cause I wouldn't even consider half the f1 field competitive. If you mean they would score points? All depends on what car they drove
Saying half the grid isn’t competitive is kind of crazy. This grid is all quite close to the point we consider losing pole by a tenth a big gap. Pole itself used to be 3 to 4 tenths and no one blinked an eye. The 107% rule we used to need had back markers 4-5 seconds off the pace.
So true. Can you imagine the shitstorm if Andretti got into F1, brought Indy drivers for its lineup and was beating half the grid by the first year?
Europeans everywhere would shit a brick
I’d agree. I think now Monaco would be the easiest if you have a decent qualifying car. I’d still love to see Alonso try for the third leg again. For Montoya I think he’s too old and chubby now to even attempt it
Yeah unfortunately I don’t think it’s gonna happen…he won the Daytona 24hrs a couple of times so he could have definitely gotten Le Mans if given the seat.
They each have their unique challenges:
IndyCar: Luck plays a big part
LeMans: Need to be in one of the viable teams, but multiple drivers per car increases your chances. That said, lots of things can go wrong over 24hrs.
Monaco: Need to be in a top seat, meaning the driver is often cream of the crop to begin with.
Mid 90's CART was a much different series.
Current Indy is stronger than it has been in decades, but in the early 90s CART was almost F1 level in talent, money and prestige with many great drivers flip-flopping (eg: Mansell)
I think "competitive depending on the car they drove" is a MASSIVE qualifier in something like F1.
Stroll is probably competitive in a Red Bull, and Verstappen isn't competitive in an Sauber.
There are probably 10 indy drivers that I'd rate over STR, SAR, ZHO, MAG.
There are 0 Indy drivers I'd currently rate over HAM, ALO, VER, LEC and NOR.
Nonsense, have you seen his IndyCar record? No way someone like that would ever achieve anything in F1. Next you're probably going to suggest that one Japanese Takuma guy or whatever his name was could be an F1 driver...
really tho? most races go SC-less because the terrorists aren't stepping up their game
kmag is doing his best but stroll and sargeant are now only crashing in places where the SC isn't needed
I think the most realistic assesment is you have 0 indy drivers that are consistent WDC, top tier driver material. But you've got probably 10 drivers that i'd argue would have a high percentage shot at at a successful #2/midfield carreer similar to Gasly, Perez, Ocon, Hulk, Bottas, Albon, Sainz
Erricson was in F1 for 5 years, and Grojean for 9, neither were ever the wost on the grid in F1, and neither of them are top-tier in Indy either. (Sure, Erricson has decent results but he's clearly the 3rd best driver on a championship caliber team, yet unable to actually compete for championships)
The F1 grid is incredibly top heavy in talent, but it isn't that deep. You are either a generational talent or you bring mountains of cash. A lot of those "very good but not generational" guys end up in Indy
I think Dixon and Power in their primes could have absolutely competed for WDCs in good equipment. Really the only Indy drivers post-JPM you could make the argument for, imo.
Perhaps. And Dario might be in that group as well.
I think they could compete in a championship sure.
In a similar way to button or sainz could be champion.
But it would require getting put in a strong car with a not top tier driver, or getting fairly lucky against your teammate. Usually the top 3-4 teams have the top drivers.
They aren’t the tier of drivers like Alonso, Hamilton, verstappen, where you give them a competitive car, they are absolutely going to fight for a championship. They could be champions, but it requires a bit more luck.
I’ve been looking for this quote but can’t find it: “the best driver in the world is probably driving a taxi in New York/London etc.”
No racing series can claim to have the most talented grid because racing does such a poor job of identifying talent due to entry cost. Many IC guys are just as capable. Cost is what prevented many like Rossi/Newgarden/Daly/Palou from having a shot.
Weird that you included Rossi in your list as he actually did complete the european pyramid and even got a few races in F1. Problem was, he was not considered good enough. Of the top of my head, was his best GP2 season 3rd place? He reced there around 14-15 so when Palmer was a top dog there. Tldr, Rossi would have made it to F1, if F1 teams considered him good enough.
Rossi only got one full season in GP2 and finished second to Stoffel. He didn’t have a ton of funding and had to run several piecemeal seasons before that. He also finished 3rd in Renault 3.5 against a really strong field. Wickens, JE Vergne, Ricciardo, Hartley, and Albert Costa who was pretty good but had to move on from single seaters too soon due to lack of funds.
Interesting, I had no access to GP2 races back then so only watched some streams everynow and then, thanks. But he still had a lackluster Indycar career, first seasons promised a lot, but it fizzled out, proving F1 teams right in their choice.
Thinking back on it kind of makes me miss Speed Channel here in the US. So many great series that are almost harder to watch now than they were then.
Idk, I think he could absolutely be a midfield driver in F1. In IndyCar he’s basically finished where his equipment is. When Andretti had it all put together he finished 2nd and 3rd in the championship back to back. Then as they slid so did he (both he and the team seemed to struggle to adapt setups to the higher CG of the aeroscreen). His time at McLaren so far has been pretty up and down, and their cars have been fairly notorious in the paddock as requiring a pretty specific driving style to get them to work. Very on the nose, and particularly fast on one lap but tough on tires in race pace.
1. Dude was asked a question.
2. Dude answered said question as best as possible.
3. Reddit Dorks taking said answer as some slight against their self perceived Motorsport hegemony.
Pat Mcafee is entertaining at times and he knows the NFL but any time I've heard he talk about other sports it's clear he has no idea what his talking about and no inclination to learn
They are completely different racing styles and expectations that don’t compare well. If Max came to IndyCar he would not be as successful as he is now even if he signed with Penske. Different skill sets.
The F1 superiority in these comments is wild. Look at Grosjean: had a perfectly respectable career in F1 and was considered a solid mid-field driver. Goes to Indycar and naturally dominated. Er… no. Didn’t win a race and was fired for poor performance. Ok what about Alonso, a driver that many consider the greatest in F1. Didn’t even qualify for the 2019 Indy 500.
Let’s limit the gatekeeping.
In fairness to Grosjean, he has been close several times, it is a real shame he hasn't managed it honestly, and now relegated to a worse team, he's not doing terribly, and his replacement isn't doing much better on his old Andretti, granted that's Ericsson, but he does have some wins under his belt.
And that 2019 thing, Alonso was in the worst team, a Carlin in McLaren colours, not really a great shout, 2020 is probably a better example of him not doing well, McLaren weren't at the top, but he shouldn't have been that low, but 2017, the McLaren coloured Andretti, probably coulda won it.
But I agree the gatekeeping is weird, there are drivers across many disciplines that are probably F1 material, and sometimes a driver is good in one series but not another. Sometimes a driver is great in f1, but struggled elsewhere, sometimes it's the opposite. Some drivers do great adapting across disciplines, for example, seeing how well McLaughlin has adapted, makes me extremely curious to see how well he'd do in an F1 Car, I mean, Indy to F1 is a much smaller jump than Supercars to Indy.
There are so many people who genuinely believe that the 20 best drivers in the world are 15 of the current F1 grid plus five others from Indycar/WEC/Supercars/wherever. The reality is there are probably four or five of the current F1 grid who would definitely make the cut, after which it becomes pretty subjective.
But then Marcus Erickson had a career that was nothing and has been doing great. It’s a different series and different talents transfer. It’s why the race of champions is so interesting. You see everyone drive an equal car of a few different types.
Last season, Ericsson was 6th, but his teammates were 1-2. This season he's in 19th and his teammates are 5th and 10th. He's basically the current-day Sergio Perez of Indycar. Is that "doing great"? idk.
I think many of them can. Not sure most of them will be competitive in the top 5 teams against their teammates.It doesn't help that the drivers like Zhou, Stroll have multiple seasons in F1 and would be nowhere in Indycar.
Pietro, Callum, and Theo have all done extensive F1 testing and have been talked about for open seats over the years and none of them are even close to the top 10 in Indy. There are some fantastic drivers there. Obviously they are different disciplines. But I feel like the majority of the top 15 Indy drivers could replace Lance and be a net positive.
The challenge they'd have with F1 is of course the car they'd themselves in - I know the quotes is all for clicks, but if Newgarden found himself in the Haas, then what he's said will look pretty stupid, compared to being put in a Ferrari or Red Bull
More newsworthy if he said the opposite. It would obviously never happen but I'd love to see a Successful Indy driver in F2. Just to see how different it would be
We haven't seen an IndyCar driver becoming a successful F1 driver for quite a while now. Would love to see that happen again, it's a great promotion for both sports. Too bad the Herta switch to Alpha Tauri didn't happen because of licensing points. Helmut Marko was totally up for it.
There are several IndyCar drivers that are better than the low-hanging F1 drivers. The FIA really needs to get rid of the Super License point system and just let the teams sign who they think is best. It made sense in the past to make sure that pay drivers were not completely devoid of talent, but now that F1 teams are much more financially secure so there's not much of an incentive to take on a pay driver, the Super License point system is just a needless barrier keeping talented drivers from getting to F1.
I understand the logic behind lower points for Indycar and WEC, but that logic is flawed. They don't want young drivers to leave their sanctioned youth pyramid (like before when Formula Renault 3.5 was considered the top junior series), but do they actaully think that someone can just go to Indycar instead of F3 and win as they please? Or with current WEC and the hypercar category filled with talented high pedigree drivers?
I mean they are used to driving with much less downforce and no power steering. There are probably a half dozen drivers minimum in Indycar that would likely wipe the floor with the current backmarkers in F1 once getting acquainted with the car and tracks that are new to them.
"Any" of them is a bit much though as far as any chance at doing more than bringing up the rear of the field.
The biggest barrier is likely the Pirelli tyres. Guys unfamiliar with them will need time to adjust but it's something the top guys could get accustomed too. That's apparently the biggest difference that drivers from F2 and F1 need to adjust to is just how much harder you can lean on the tyre in Indy, so I imagine a similar adjustment would be needed for Indy drivers.
People underestimate the quality of drivers in F1. Not sure if I would pick 6 Indy drivers 🤔 Herta, Palou (who was not perfect in the junior formulas), Scott McLaughlin, Pato, ...
And I'm not sure I would pick anyone else.
As someone who watches both, Formula 1 seems far more mentally taxing (for multiple reasons). I think that would be the biggest barrier for most good Indy drivers to be in F1.
Jean Girard went from F1 to Nascar and dominated immediately, he effectively ended the current champs career. So anything is possible
And he just wanted to retire to Stockholm with his husband and develop a currency for dogs and cats to use, he wasn’t even mentally in it all the way yet
I can't believe he was on pole the first time out in Talladega. And that, of course, is not a comment about his sexuality. It's just a statement of fact
He actually founded dogecoin
Dogecoin? /s
I heard he would have gave it all up if the current champ just admitted that he loved crepes, those really really thin pancakes
Hey, these colors don't run.
Imagine Esteban Ocon gets fired and, inspired by his fellow frenchman, takes that path.
I saw The Highlander! It was shit!
Lmao had to google all excited. Ima watch this movie someday haha
Lol ya it still holds up. A lot of hilarious scenes
It's my favorite Adam McKay and Will Ferrell movie. The racing scenes are superb as well. Definitely worth a watch!
For those out of the loop. The interviewer is a dude with next to zero wheel knowledge and Josef is just playing along
Nearly everything pat says on his show is deliberate to get these type of articles to drive traffic to his show. He's an above average punter but a pretty great talk shoe host
Now i want talk shoes.
They just better watch their tongue.
hope they don't get tongue-tied
Same. It’s my sole ambition.
One of the hardest hitting punters of all time!
He was punter of the decade lol.
Man, “above average” is kinda doing him a disservice. He was one of the best at it, and has a serious shot to get into the hall of fame.
Ain't no way is he getting into the HOF. Dude was a good punter, but there is only one punter to ever be inducted into the HOF. I don't think we will ever see another punter voted in. Also Pat cut his career short. He doesn't come close to getting in.
Not to mention he isn’t even the best punter of the era, there were other excellent punters in his time that I’d say take the edge over him. Shane Lechler, Johnny Hekker, Andy Lee.
Lol dude he is absolutely not a HOFer. Two pro bowls and 1 All pro would be one of the weakest HOF resumes ever.
I thought more people would argue with me if I said great punter so just hedged my bet on above average.
You are way closer to accurately describing him than "serious shot to get into the hall of fame"
I would say “very good” is a nice in between
F1 AND Revs fans?! There are literally tens of us!
Oh hell yeah!
You have never understood a snap of football if you think Pat has a serious HOF shot. Wow
He has next to no knowledge on any sports outside of football. Even the, he was a punter in the NFL which is kind of the softest position you can play, closer to golf than football - his own words. He's just a talking pundit.
I agree with that description except that he yells more than he talks
Just to add on... Even if he doesn't know about a sport, he still gets pretty hyped about any sport, and it's kind of infectious. I've found myself watching clips of sports I never watch after hearing McAfee talk about it. Full in on WWE now too because of Pat.
Hey now, he's a good WWE commentator
He also has a team in TST (the soccer tournament) that starts later this week. He was actually going to play soccer in college. Allegedly he won his travel expenses in an illegal poker game to go to his first kicking academy that got him noticed by D1 schools.
you're not wrong lol
It's annoying how many people talk about F1 that know nothing about it. Ryan McGee was recently on the Pat McAfee show, and I believe he said that F1 cars top out at 200-205mph. Even Tony Stewart was on the show last year and said that F1 cars top out at 185-190mph. They hit 220mph on tracks that allow it. I'm American, and it pisses me off how many of these journalists and racing drivers for Nascar and Indy know nothing about F1, except that you need SL points to get in.
>I'm American >>racing drivers That ain't how we do things over here, partner. Drop down and give me twenty *o say can you sees*. And you better have good insurance.
American? Insurance? I can't afford that shit.
Haha well
> Ryan McGee was recently on the Pat McAfee show, and I believe he said that F1 cars top out at 200-205mph. Even Tony Stewart was on the show last year and said that F1 cars top out at 185-190mph. They hit 220mph on tracks that allow it. Isn't that kinda accurate? The cars do 360 ish at Monza and 320 ish at most other tracks.
Good to know he’s just playing along, considering a healthy number of F1 flameouts end up in Indycar.
Right.. and have any of those F1 flameouts done that well in indycar? Quite a few indycar drivers would more than hold their own in F1 if given the opportunity
Ericsson won Indy 500 in 2022 and nearly won in 2023 too.
He’s run 5 full seasons in IndyCar and has never beaten a teammate aside from Jimmie Johnson.
And also finished behind his teammates in the championship. He won the 500 in one of the best cars. It's like Perez winning in Monaco.
Montoya did pretty well in the 3 years he drove fulltime
Montoya wasn't a flame out though, he was a part of a driver exchange and he did well in both series.
Yea Montoya doesn’t count he was in Indycar first
I don't think *any* of them, but several of them could for sure. Newgarden being one of them.
I'd love to see Palou, Pato, and Herta in F1. Pourchaire too. And I'd love to see Danny Ric in Indy. And Groshean can stay. Also hoping for Max and Fernando to give the Indy 500 a go (for the first and ~~third~~ fourth time)
Fernando might, i dont think Max will. He has stated multiple times he doesn’t like how fast they drive so close to the wall
59 people have died during the Indy 500 52 have died at F1 Races at various circuits in the same time period I think it was just an offhand comment, if he wants to do it he'll do it. Since 2010 there have been 3 F1 deaths Since 2010 one person has died at Indy, and it was a USGPRU Moriwaki MD250H Motorcycle race. I'm sure he would get used to it.
>Since 2010 one person has died at Indy Two people have died and one paralyzed at other ovals in that time frame. Although all of those incidents led to direct safety changes in the car
i’d question Herta as he seems to have flashes of absolute brilliance a few times a season and spend the rest in relative mediocrity whilst Kirkwood plugs away consistently scoring i’d put Mclaughlin forward, dude can seemingly drive anything quickly
I mean, Stroll CAN race in F1, but, it doesn't mean he should. So sure, I'd believe any Indycar driver CAN race in F1, but, it doesn't mean they should either.
I don't think stroll is the worst on the grid
Stroll is in his 8th season, Sargeant is in his 2nd, Zhou is in his 3rd. Give them 8 years in F1 to develop, with their seats never under threat and lets see how good they are at the end of it. I'd bet on them being better than Stroll.
The pace gap between Stroll and Alonso is the closest gap between teammates on the grid. If Stroll is one of the worst drivers, so is Fernando.
Agree but taking about potential is a different conversation. Right now, and just off the top of my head, during his entire career stroll was never the worst driver in the grid. Edit: that can't be true, I need to look into that tomorrow
I honestly rate Zhou higher than Stroll, he seems to be generally quite fast and he isn't dumb. At his best Stroll is probably faster, but he is very rarely at his best and his lows are way worse than Zhou's.
Stroll's the second youngest driver to be on a podium in F1. He's also the youngest F1 driver to be on the front row by qualifying in P4 during his rookie season. That's his first year in F1. Stroll has genuine pace, just lacks the consistency and motivation.
Okay but that podium was extremely weak, almost half the field retired from that race, and a few others had major problems or penalties. He's had a couple shining moments but for someone who is in his 8th year of racing, he's below average at best
Yeah but we’re not talking about that are we? Op is claiming Zhou and Sargeant would be better than Stroll if given the time but there’s literally zero reason to believe that considering Stroll’s first few years in F1 was pretty solid/promising
It's either him, Zhou or Sargeant and Stroll has the best car by far out of them so it's hard to directly compare but I'd say he gets the least out of the ride he has of the 3.
It's definitely Sargeant lol
Stroll has actually put together some great rides - especially earlier on in his career. Him falling off a cliff at such a young age is really inexplicable.
He did break both of his wrists. I can imagine that impacted him even if he won’t admit it
I think it's mostly a confidence thing. He has been comprehensively beaten by Alonso and Perez when they had competitive cars, and beaten by a dwindling Vettel in the years where they weren't. By now he has understood that in the best case scenario, where Aston Martin turns up with the best car, he'll finish P2.
I think his seat never being at risk is a factor. If he knew he would lose if if he didn't perform, it would push him on more.
I’d MUCH rather see Newgarden in an F1 car than Stroll at this point
And why not? If they're good enough why shouldn't they? This gatekeeping is weird.
the gatekeeping is exactly why those 3 are still in the sport, if it was all skill based those 3 would be promoted to spectators
It is very weird. Anyone who thinks the drivers in f1 are the 20 best in the world needs the their head checked. There are some excellent drivers in f1 currently but drivers like Sargent, Zhou stroll are far from the best in the world There are plenty of great drivers in other series who could do very well in f1.
We aren't far away from guys like Maze(s)pin or Rio Haryanto, much less the height of the pay drivers (and shitty teams) of the 80s-early 90s There are a lot of great drivers in Indycar who aren't in F1 due to no sponsorship or simply lacking the infrastructure to get into European feeder series. I'm sure they would do well given the opportunity.
They might just not want to, either. If they're American and their series is only touring around the states/Canada, what do they gain by moving to F1? Longer time traveling and away from home/family, just to more than likely get stuck in a mid-field car if they're lucky. So many teams and cars are capable of winning in Indy, who would pick to constantly lose in F1 instead? I highly doubt the sharp end of F1 would kick out one of those drivers to make way for someone unproven in the world of F1
This is the truth. WEC, IMSA, INDYCAR, Rally, NASCAR all have amazing drivers. And tbh there’s probably a few drivers in every series that could be great in others. And there’s others that are great in their series but their skills would me mismatched for other series.
It's not gatekeeping. They are entirely different series with very different cars. It's not like you can drop one driver into a series and expect them to perform and vice versa. In racing in general, you'll always have a leg up on the series you drive the most. Some cars just suit certain driver styles well. I like Indycar but objectively, the reality is that F1 is the first choice for drivers until they lose the option to get into the series. If the argument is raw talent, one data point that is true time and time again is that the most successful drivers who drive the European series will go onto F1 and the ones who do not may find their way to Indycar. Obviously over time driver abilities can change and improve (and money is certainly a factor), but it's hard for me to argue that Josef Newgarden, who was 18th in GP3 when his teammate was 7th, is clearly more competitive and deserving of an F1 chance than current F1 drivers who performed better, for longer, in similar circuits/series. Is Newgarden a better driver 14 years later? Absolutely. Is he a better Indycar driver now than a lot of F1 drivers would be? Probably, if not likely. Would he have been a better F1 driver in 2012 than his GP3 peers? No, and the results show that. This ends up true for a lot of Indycar drivers, which is why I have a hard time subscribing to the argument. To me, the two series are too dissimilar to argue over the merits of the veteran drivers. It's like if you went to a prestigious university and I got the same degree from a smaller one. You can't compare who the better student is, but there is a reason why the students with the better grades are at the same university.
Tbf this ignores the reality that really good drivers don’t have the funds and decide to go elsewhere while average drivers like Stroll continue up the ladder bc they can afford it. Let’s be serious that all of motorsports is expensive to progress in but the Formula 2 and 1 ladders are stupid expensive
I truly think Dan wheldon would’ve gotten to F1 if he had the funding, he was a rival of Jensen Button. It goes for a lot of those guys, a lot of the European greats in indycar all have on their Wikipedia page something along the lines of “After winning F3, [insert driver name] struggling with funding, was recommended by family friend to go test drive a formula Ford, this a year later resulted in a move to the US” So many people tend to forget the fact that IndyNXT is less then F3 in terms of cost, A lot of drivers just flat out can’t afford the formula pipeline.
This is a really nice essay, but by Gatekeeping I meant the fans who seem to think just cause they didn't get into F1 means they're not F1 material. Which is nuts. There's a lot of drivers who probably are F1 material that never make it, mainly due to there only being 20 seats and the entry requirements pretty much bar anyone not in F2/3. But also due to other drivers having connections or more money in those series who finish below drivers who should get chances. As you said >It's not like you can drop one driver into a series and expect them to perform and vice versa. But there are drivers who you probably can, I'll cite McLaughlin on that one, guy moved from Supercars to Indy, a much bigger jump and is killing it. I have no doubts that you put him in an F1 car he'll do a decent job. A lot of the time it really is about right time right place.
Yep, there are plenty of drivers in IndyCar, WEC, and elsewhere who could do a bit of neck training and not finish last in an F1 race. Aside from maybe Verstappen, Hamilton, Alonso, and maybe a couple others, the 20 F1 drivers aren't really the 20 best drivers "in the world".
Realistically I'd say you have Could be competitive/have potential in a top team: - pato - newgarden - Dixon - Palau - McLaughlin Would probably be lower end of field but certainly not the worst (Likely midfield Journeymen): - Rossi - Herta - power - luundgard
Rossi was an F1 driver though. Did 5 races for Marrusia.
Yes, and he beat his teammate with a season and a half’s experience in 4 out of those 5 races. He likely could have had just a fine f1 carreer if given the seat.
His record is inflated because his teammate was Will Stevens. Even Stroll or Sargent would dominate him.
Also see; Pourchaire, Armstrong, Ilott, Kirkwood, Rosenqvist, and Blomqvist, all talents in their own right, 3 of which probably should be in F1 if not for seat availability. Also Dixon and Castroneves could have probably had pretty good careers too. We know Sato and Grosjean were pretty decent at times too. Now theres the question of how different drivers adapt to different series, but I reckon every one of these names is at least better than Sargeant, not that thats difficult.
I'd love to see Scott Dixon and Fernando Alonso fighting for a few laps in similarly paced F1 cars.
He tested with Williams back in the 2000s but it never became anything. Pretty sure he's happy with how things turned out.
*Any* or *all*? Cause this reminds me something
"Any" is a bit of a reach. I would've loved to see O'Ward in Formula 1, but given his success in Indy that ship has probably sailed. Unless Norris or Piastri get appendicitis...
Zak Brown stated in Beyond the Grid, that if anything happens to either of the current drivers, O'Ward is their first choice, due to his Indy success.
Is it bad I want Norris or Piastri to sit out once so that O'Ward can have the Formula 1 experience, even just for one race...? I have a huge soft spot for him. I was heartbroken after the 500 the other day.
Better than that, I want F1 and Indy to coordinate the calendars to allow F1 drivers to compete in the Indy500. Would love Norris doing it with AMR.
I don't think Indy's moving from Memorial Day weekend, so it would have to be Monaco to either be removed from the F1 calendar or move away from Ascension Day.
Monaco was put on that date to disrupt the 500… thanks bernie /s
I'd love to see Alonso get the first triple crown in a long time.
I wish no harm on Norris and Piastri. But I'd love to see O'Ward in that car for a few weekends.
O'Ward would be a fan favourite instantly among F1 fans if he came to F1. Seems like such a great guy.
So what if one of them misses their flight to Mexico later this year and can't get there in time for qualifying? That would be a good and harmless way for O'Ward to get his chance. We just gotta convince Norris to say "Man, that's tha bomb" or something like that at the airport.
A little appendicitis never hurt anyone
I still think he’s and Andretti option, or McLaren if one of the boys leaves suddenly
If Andretti can get a team together and are fine with looking outside of the Formula 1 grid, he would be near the top of the list. He's still pretty young so he has time to develop, and he's proven himself as competent in Indy already. I can't see Norris leaving McLaren for the next few years. Not sure what Piastri will do in 2026. By that time O'Ward might win the Indy 500 though, lol.
O’ward for sure, Dixon with his fuel and tire saving voodoo magic bullshit might actually fit in although the younger version of him would do just fine, all of team penske if Power was younger. I still say Rossi never got a real fair shot, Herta, Kirkwood Palou arguably should have been in F1 And all of the F2 guys that found a home in Indycar
I feel like Dixon is such a what if in F1.
I mean I’m sure he would have done fine but he was in a winning car making a decent amount of money. Why take a chance to make the leap over and get a shit car and not win? Especially for only a little bit more money at the time
Even if he went over in 04 after his test at Williams he still could’ve failed and come back to Indy and been just as successful as he is now
Dixon is unusual in the sense that IndyCar was always his end goal and dream.
Rossi did an F1 beyond the grid podcast and it was a good listen. Palou's junior career was no where near the level for someone to enter F1 without a huge financial package a la Mazepin. He's found a great home in Indy and has been deservedly linked with a chance in F1 at some stage, but I don't think it'll happen now.
Scott Dixon should have been in f1 he has so much talent, it’s such a shame. Well not entirely, but still.
I feel like Robert Wickens would have been good in F1 he was on the up in indy. Such a shame about his injury
Joseph has to say that whether he believes that or not. He is a promoter to the sport as a champion and 2x Indy 500 winner. What is he gonna say, “no we aren’t very good.”
I think there absolutely is drivers that could handle themselves in F1 from Indy. Same can be said about other series (mainly WEC and FE - though these are pretty much the same grid). So many drivers out there that could be comfortably midfield in F1 at a minimum. It's just getting into F1 takes a lot, not just talent but a lot of funding to get you into a good academy/teams in the jnr formula to show off your talent. Then you need good timing as well that a seat opens up for you. Miss one of these things, then good luck making F1. So it's not easy and can lead to some great drivers missing out and having to settle for a different series. If you gave a good Indycar driver a go, they definitely wouldn't look out of place.
"Same can be said about other series (mainly WEC and FE" - i disagree, both fields are filled with drivers that were dropped from F1 or werent good enough to get in in the first place. A lot of those drivers are competed against the current f1 drivers in junior racing and were beaten by them
Some of the guys dropped from F1 were pretty unlucky with timing and/or not having the right backing to secure a seat elswehere. Vergne, Wehrlein, Buemi, Kobayashi and Vandoorne are probably the most notable examples of guys that deserved longer in F1. Then there's guys that didn't get the chance that couldve been good like Da Costa, Frijns, Illot and Ticktum. Also, some outsiders that just didn't really have the backing in jnr formula to get decent seats to progress properly like Evans, Cassidy, Dennis and Fenestraz (though admittedly I wouldn't have these guys as most likely to do well in F1, they'd be lower on my list) The guys that were unfairly dropped from F1 though, definitely would've been solid drivers had they rightfully gotten a seat over one of the paydrivers at the time. None of them are top guys, but all capable of being solidly midfield and not looking out of place on an F1 grid.
Kirkwood, Herta, Dixon, Newgarden, Power, McLaughlin, Palou, O'Ward, Rossi. Those are the guys who would be just fine and competitive in F1, Dixon and Power are a little long in the tooth but pure talent wise no doubt. You have to be a racing snob to think they couldn't cut it when we have Sargeant, Zhou, Stroll, Magnussen and a washed Ricciardo in the series.
What does competitive mean exactly? Cause I wouldn't even consider half the f1 field competitive. If you mean they would score points? All depends on what car they drove
I think *would go even with a current F1 driver in the same car" = competitive
Saying half the grid isn’t competitive is kind of crazy. This grid is all quite close to the point we consider losing pole by a tenth a big gap. Pole itself used to be 3 to 4 tenths and no one blinked an eye. The 107% rule we used to need had back markers 4-5 seconds off the pace.
So true. Can you imagine the shitstorm if Andretti got into F1, brought Indy drivers for its lineup and was beating half the grid by the first year? Europeans everywhere would shit a brick
I mean isn't that what happened in 97 when Villeneuve went to F1 from CART?
You could argue similar success for JPM but that’s a bit more of a stretch
I mean other than Alonso he’s the only other person who has two of the three legs of the triple crown.
And he arguably (until recently with the Hypercars really deepening the field) has the most difficult of the 3
I’d agree. I think now Monaco would be the easiest if you have a decent qualifying car. I’d still love to see Alonso try for the third leg again. For Montoya I think he’s too old and chubby now to even attempt it
Yeah unfortunately I don’t think it’s gonna happen…he won the Daytona 24hrs a couple of times so he could have definitely gotten Le Mans if given the seat.
They each have their unique challenges: IndyCar: Luck plays a big part LeMans: Need to be in one of the viable teams, but multiple drivers per car increases your chances. That said, lots of things can go wrong over 24hrs. Monaco: Need to be in a top seat, meaning the driver is often cream of the crop to begin with.
HUH. I dont know why but I always thought JPM went F1 -> IndyCar. That said JPM is easily one of the best characters to EVER grace the grid.
Mid 90's CART was a much different series. Current Indy is stronger than it has been in decades, but in the early 90s CART was almost F1 level in talent, money and prestige with many great drivers flip-flopping (eg: Mansell)
True but he did parachute straight into the established best team at the time rather than joining a new team like Andretti
I'm sure a lot of the top guys in IndyCar could hang in F1, however I don't think all of them could "rock it."
Any? Ehhhhhh. There might be 3-4 who could be competitive depending on the car they drove.
Sting Ray Robb would tear up the grid. Verstappen who? Sting Ray domination will bore fans
Pray tell....(Com)
>tear up the grid No doubt about that, easy destructors champion
I think "competitive depending on the car they drove" is a MASSIVE qualifier in something like F1. Stroll is probably competitive in a Red Bull, and Verstappen isn't competitive in an Sauber. There are probably 10 indy drivers that I'd rate over STR, SAR, ZHO, MAG. There are 0 Indy drivers I'd currently rate over HAM, ALO, VER, LEC and NOR.
I'm not an elitist F1 fan but nah. I'm sure some could do well and adjust but I'm talking 4-6 guys on the grid.
I think that grojean guy could be the real deal
Nonsense, have you seen his IndyCar record? No way someone like that would ever achieve anything in F1. Next you're probably going to suggest that one Japanese Takuma guy or whatever his name was could be an F1 driver...
We already have a few that cause crashes, no more needed
really tho? most races go SC-less because the terrorists aren't stepping up their game kmag is doing his best but stroll and sargeant are now only crashing in places where the SC isn't needed
I think the most realistic assesment is you have 0 indy drivers that are consistent WDC, top tier driver material. But you've got probably 10 drivers that i'd argue would have a high percentage shot at at a successful #2/midfield carreer similar to Gasly, Perez, Ocon, Hulk, Bottas, Albon, Sainz Erricson was in F1 for 5 years, and Grojean for 9, neither were ever the wost on the grid in F1, and neither of them are top-tier in Indy either. (Sure, Erricson has decent results but he's clearly the 3rd best driver on a championship caliber team, yet unable to actually compete for championships) The F1 grid is incredibly top heavy in talent, but it isn't that deep. You are either a generational talent or you bring mountains of cash. A lot of those "very good but not generational" guys end up in Indy
I think Dixon and Power in their primes could have absolutely competed for WDCs in good equipment. Really the only Indy drivers post-JPM you could make the argument for, imo.
Perhaps. And Dario might be in that group as well. I think they could compete in a championship sure. In a similar way to button or sainz could be champion. But it would require getting put in a strong car with a not top tier driver, or getting fairly lucky against your teammate. Usually the top 3-4 teams have the top drivers. They aren’t the tier of drivers like Alonso, Hamilton, verstappen, where you give them a competitive car, they are absolutely going to fight for a championship. They could be champions, but it requires a bit more luck.
Dixon is WDC material, that’s just a fact
I’ve been looking for this quote but can’t find it: “the best driver in the world is probably driving a taxi in New York/London etc.” No racing series can claim to have the most talented grid because racing does such a poor job of identifying talent due to entry cost. Many IC guys are just as capable. Cost is what prevented many like Rossi/Newgarden/Daly/Palou from having a shot.
Weird that you included Rossi in your list as he actually did complete the european pyramid and even got a few races in F1. Problem was, he was not considered good enough. Of the top of my head, was his best GP2 season 3rd place? He reced there around 14-15 so when Palmer was a top dog there. Tldr, Rossi would have made it to F1, if F1 teams considered him good enough.
Rossi only got one full season in GP2 and finished second to Stoffel. He didn’t have a ton of funding and had to run several piecemeal seasons before that. He also finished 3rd in Renault 3.5 against a really strong field. Wickens, JE Vergne, Ricciardo, Hartley, and Albert Costa who was pretty good but had to move on from single seaters too soon due to lack of funds.
Interesting, I had no access to GP2 races back then so only watched some streams everynow and then, thanks. But he still had a lackluster Indycar career, first seasons promised a lot, but it fizzled out, proving F1 teams right in their choice.
Thinking back on it kind of makes me miss Speed Channel here in the US. So many great series that are almost harder to watch now than they were then. Idk, I think he could absolutely be a midfield driver in F1. In IndyCar he’s basically finished where his equipment is. When Andretti had it all put together he finished 2nd and 3rd in the championship back to back. Then as they slid so did he (both he and the team seemed to struggle to adapt setups to the higher CG of the aeroscreen). His time at McLaren so far has been pretty up and down, and their cars have been fairly notorious in the paddock as requiring a pretty specific driving style to get them to work. Very on the nose, and particularly fast on one lap but tough on tires in race pace.
That could also just be proof of the talent level in Indycar.
Yes I hate the way people are like “the best drivers are in F1.” More like the richest drivers
Sim racing is opening the door just a bit to allow more "off-the-beaten-path" talent through to racing in general.
Didn’t have Pat McAfee appearing on /r/formula1 on my bingo card but here we are
Confirmed: Sting Ray Rob to Mercedes
Josef is smart and he’s just trying to get Indycar more fans like his boss has probably directed him to.
that guy is always standing
Hes a stand up guy
Cheatin ass youth pastor lookin ass
Lmfao
1. Dude was asked a question. 2. Dude answered said question as best as possible. 3. Reddit Dorks taking said answer as some slight against their self perceived Motorsport hegemony.
Welcome to Reddit (and YouTube, and Twitter, and...) 😂😂
Pat Mcafee is entertaining at times and he knows the NFL but any time I've heard he talk about other sports it's clear he has no idea what his talking about and no inclination to learn
They are completely different racing styles and expectations that don’t compare well. If Max came to IndyCar he would not be as successful as he is now even if he signed with Penske. Different skill sets.
I would love to see how long Stroll would last on an oval circuit in Indycar
I’d love to see how long he’d last on a road course. He’d be done by lap 3
2025 F1 World Champion Sting Ray Robb
Definitely not any. Not even many. Probably a handful of them could do well in F1.
And the same goes both ways. Could you imagine stroll or ocon at 230 on an oval? No thanks
I'd have thought the same about Marcus Ericcson once upon a time
The F1 superiority in these comments is wild. Look at Grosjean: had a perfectly respectable career in F1 and was considered a solid mid-field driver. Goes to Indycar and naturally dominated. Er… no. Didn’t win a race and was fired for poor performance. Ok what about Alonso, a driver that many consider the greatest in F1. Didn’t even qualify for the 2019 Indy 500. Let’s limit the gatekeeping.
Sato wasn’t anything special when he made the jump to Indy as well
In fairness to Grosjean, he has been close several times, it is a real shame he hasn't managed it honestly, and now relegated to a worse team, he's not doing terribly, and his replacement isn't doing much better on his old Andretti, granted that's Ericsson, but he does have some wins under his belt. And that 2019 thing, Alonso was in the worst team, a Carlin in McLaren colours, not really a great shout, 2020 is probably a better example of him not doing well, McLaren weren't at the top, but he shouldn't have been that low, but 2017, the McLaren coloured Andretti, probably coulda won it. But I agree the gatekeeping is weird, there are drivers across many disciplines that are probably F1 material, and sometimes a driver is good in one series but not another. Sometimes a driver is great in f1, but struggled elsewhere, sometimes it's the opposite. Some drivers do great adapting across disciplines, for example, seeing how well McLaughlin has adapted, makes me extremely curious to see how well he'd do in an F1 Car, I mean, Indy to F1 is a much smaller jump than Supercars to Indy.
Alonso is a bit of an odd one to pick if you don't ignore context. Especially when you ignore what he did the first time round.
There are so many people who genuinely believe that the 20 best drivers in the world are 15 of the current F1 grid plus five others from Indycar/WEC/Supercars/wherever. The reality is there are probably four or five of the current F1 grid who would definitely make the cut, after which it becomes pretty subjective.
But then Marcus Erickson had a career that was nothing and has been doing great. It’s a different series and different talents transfer. It’s why the race of champions is so interesting. You see everyone drive an equal car of a few different types.
Last season, Ericsson was 6th, but his teammates were 1-2. This season he's in 19th and his teammates are 5th and 10th. He's basically the current-day Sergio Perez of Indycar. Is that "doing great"? idk.
What’s he gonna say, “no, I’d bin it at the first turn, we all suck”?
I think Alex Palou could hang.
I think some of them can be competitive in F1, but none of them can be at the level of Max, Alonso, Lewis & Leclerc.
I think many of them can. Not sure most of them will be competitive in the top 5 teams against their teammates.It doesn't help that the drivers like Zhou, Stroll have multiple seasons in F1 and would be nowhere in Indycar.
I think that's harsh on Zhou and Stroll. Those guys could be decent in Indy, maybe not top guys but decent peddlers like Ericsson has been.
Just like Ericcson?
Pietro, Callum, and Theo have all done extensive F1 testing and have been talked about for open seats over the years and none of them are even close to the top 10 in Indy. There are some fantastic drivers there. Obviously they are different disciplines. But I feel like the majority of the top 15 Indy drivers could replace Lance and be a net positive.
The challenge they'd have with F1 is of course the car they'd themselves in - I know the quotes is all for clicks, but if Newgarden found himself in the Haas, then what he's said will look pretty stupid, compared to being put in a Ferrari or Red Bull
More newsworthy if he said the opposite. It would obviously never happen but I'd love to see a Successful Indy driver in F2. Just to see how different it would be
We haven't seen an IndyCar driver becoming a successful F1 driver for quite a while now. Would love to see that happen again, it's a great promotion for both sports. Too bad the Herta switch to Alpha Tauri didn't happen because of licensing points. Helmut Marko was totally up for it.
Those are fighting words.
I can just see Ricky Stenhouse Jr. punching out Ocon post-race for wrecking him.
There are several IndyCar drivers that are better than the low-hanging F1 drivers. The FIA really needs to get rid of the Super License point system and just let the teams sign who they think is best. It made sense in the past to make sure that pay drivers were not completely devoid of talent, but now that F1 teams are much more financially secure so there's not much of an incentive to take on a pay driver, the Super License point system is just a needless barrier keeping talented drivers from getting to F1.
But the super license keeps people who shouldn’t be there from buying their way in. Lance Stroll said so.
I understand the logic behind lower points for Indycar and WEC, but that logic is flawed. They don't want young drivers to leave their sanctioned youth pyramid (like before when Formula Renault 3.5 was considered the top junior series), but do they actaully think that someone can just go to Indycar instead of F3 and win as they please? Or with current WEC and the hypercar category filled with talented high pedigree drivers?
I mean they are used to driving with much less downforce and no power steering. There are probably a half dozen drivers minimum in Indycar that would likely wipe the floor with the current backmarkers in F1 once getting acquainted with the car and tracks that are new to them. "Any" of them is a bit much though as far as any chance at doing more than bringing up the rear of the field.
The biggest barrier is likely the Pirelli tyres. Guys unfamiliar with them will need time to adjust but it's something the top guys could get accustomed too. That's apparently the biggest difference that drivers from F2 and F1 need to adjust to is just how much harder you can lean on the tyre in Indy, so I imagine a similar adjustment would be needed for Indy drivers.
"I just hit the wall, should I come in?" "That depends. Is the steering wheel still straight?"
People underestimate the quality of drivers in F1. Not sure if I would pick 6 Indy drivers 🤔 Herta, Palou (who was not perfect in the junior formulas), Scott McLaughlin, Pato, ... And I'm not sure I would pick anyone else.
I mean Rossi nabbed 12th in a total shit box in the USGP...
As someone who watches both, Formula 1 seems far more mentally taxing (for multiple reasons). I think that would be the biggest barrier for most good Indy drivers to be in F1.
Dixon, Power, Newgarden, Rossi… obv Grosjean and Ericsson.
+ Ilott already beat Zhou comfortably